Musical Instruments Museum - MIM

Musical Instruments Museum - MIM

Musical Instruments Museum - MIM
4.5
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
Closed
Tuesday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
The entrance to the building is a jewel of the Art Nouveau style, while the rest is in perfect harmony with the neoclassical ensemble on the Place Royale, and just around the corner from the Grand-Place and Central Station, no less! With a wealth of some 9.000 instruments, some 1.200 of which are on permanent exhibit, the museum's reputation is mainly built on its extraordinary collections. Once inside, you'll embark on a true tour of the musical world. After your visit, the instruments and their history will no longer hold any secrets: from the viola da gamba from the Court of Brussels to the 20th century theremin, and even including the African Kora! The mim is nothing other than a place to experience music. A visitor's guidance system allows you to explore the thematic tours to the tune of the melodious sound of the instruments presented.
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How to get there
  • Park • 7 min walk
  • Naamsepoort • 8 min walk
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See what travellers are saying
  • John R
    Harpenden, United Kingdom137 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A fabulous collection of musical instruments, old and new, with audio samples
    We had a couple of hours to kill before catching the Eurostar from Brussels to London, so we thought we’d try out the Musical Instruments Museum. It was fabulous. What a collection of hundreds of instruments of all sorts….drums, harpsichords, trumpets, ocarinas, flutes, clarinets, harps, organs, accordions, bandoneons, concertinas, pianos, pianolas , hurdy Gurdies …. just to name a few plus some very unusual ones from China and South America. There is an audio guide on which you can hear samples of the instruments playing…. Simply key in the number of the exhibit. There are beautiful harpsichords with inlaid patterns and paintings on the wood. There are three floors of instruments and I would allow 45 -60 minutes for each floor. It is located about a 30 minutes walk or 10 min taxi ride from the Eurostar station.
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 19 February 2024
  • Lisa E
    Aurora, Colorado300 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Good for even the non musician
    We spent three hours here. My husband is a musician and was enthralled. I’m not but was still totally into it. The displays are well organized and the audio of different instruments playing was interesting. I would have liked more information on the instruments (some had it but not most) and perhaps the audio being just that instrument because some were in ensembles.
    Visited April 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 16 April 2024
  • Sophie-Reviews8923
    London, United Kingdom80 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Absolute hidden gem
    Had a wonderful time exploring this museum! It’s well worth the entry fee, featuring three floors of instruments, a headset so you can listen to music from all over the world, and a great shop to top it all off. Great for fans of music or those who just want to learn more about European and World music and instruments.
    Visited August 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 18 August 2024
  • Ambassador473870
    2 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fab for all the family
    Fantastic visit - the children were absorbed for 2 hours at least. All the instrumental music was so diverse and interesting, often moving. You hold a guide that plays the music of the instruments in front of you, with often the added option of watching a video and finding out more. Kids went free which was even more of a bonus. A beautiful building too- I hope this place lasts forever.
    Visited August 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 24 August 2024
  • Mary K
    White Plains, New York46 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Amazing Music Museum
    All I can say is wow! This was one of the most interesting museums I have been to. My husband and I were looking for something to do on our last day in Brussels and decided to go here for a quick visit. Two hours later we were still there! The admission ticket comes with an audio guide which plays the music of the instrument you are viewing. It is a very in-depth museum that explores all types of instruments and time periods. You should definitely allow at least two hours to see everything. I highly recommend this museum!
    Visited September 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 27 September 2024
  • gramochroi
    County Dublin, Ireland86 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Good museum but didn’t learn as much as I expected.
    We enjoyed this museum and the audios where you pressed buttons to hear instrument sounds. I think if this was matched with a little short bit of info so you didn’t have to read it we would have learned more…as it was the kids didn’t really read the narrative that existed for some the exhibits and a lot of the exhibits had no narrative. So it turned into a press this one to hear this sound..have you tried this number etc etc Overall a fun place to wander but it didn’t really achieve educating the kids or me on the evolution of musical instruments.
    Visited December 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 1 December 2024
  • Charline L
    12 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A fun museum perfect for kids
    Really an excellent experience! Visiting with my 4 year old daughter I was looking for a place to visit that could please everyone and the Musical Instruments Museum is the ideal place! Equipped with a player and earphone you can discover the sounds of the entire collection. After an hour and a half of visiting, we had not yet seen everything. But really it's worth a visit.
    Visited December 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 28 December 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles4 135 reviews
Excellent
2 294
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1 247
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436
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100
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Melanie T
New York City, NY6 966 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Couples
What a cool museum! It's included in the Brussels Card but if you don't have it, tickets are €15, which I think is still worth it. It's so unique. It's a collection of musical instruments from all over the world, and many of them are hundreds of years old. All of the instruments are in a glass case or behind a rope (for obvious reasons) and they give you an audio guide to listen to what it sounds like. There were so many instruments I had never even heard of.

We got there at around 10:30 on a Saturday and there were a good amount of people there already (they open at 9:30). It got crowded later on so I would recommend going on a weekday if you can. We spent about an hour and a half there and got through most of everything we wanted. There are four floors, so at first, we were listening to every piece but eventually we started to just choose the things we were interested in. If you were to listen to everything, my guess is that it would probably take 3-4 hours. They have over 2,000 instruments.

Highly recommend, if you love music and are looking for something different to do!
Written 16 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Trek12434078452
1 contribution
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Family
This museum was amazing and it was so interesting to see such a variety of instruments from different countries and hear how they sound. However the security staff were awful.

We brought our 1 year old to the museum who cannot yet walk. After buying tickets we were informed that we could not bring the pram in or any of our bags or food for the baby including the baby's milk. We then spent around half an hour trying to settle our baby with food and milk before entering. Obviously we had to carry her everywhere and my husband and I had to take it in turns carrying her so that the other could enjoy the museum. We ended up only spending about 20 minutes each actually seeing the museum before needing to leave to settle the baby.

On leaving the building I saw another visitor being allowed entrance with their baby and pram which was quite outrageous given our experience. Bottom line, I wouldn't bring a baby or toddler here. Really the staff should have told us before we wasted our money that we wouldn't be able to bring anything that would comfort our child into the museum.
Written 8 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

therichastill
Stevenage, UK3 515 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2023
I was quite intrigued to visit the Musical Instrument Museum to see what was on display and was not disappointed!

When I visited it was 15 Euros and you get an audio guide to take you through the museum. There are lockers to put your bags and outside clothes which is really helpful.

There is a lift to take you to the floors of the museum. I was advised to start on the lower ground floor and work my way up to the top which was very helpful.

Within the museum there are LOADS of different musical instruments from throughout the world and different ages right up to the present day.

The audio guide lets you listen to the instruments so you can hear what they sound like.

There is a well stocked gift shop with all sorts of souvenirs you can buy for you or your loved ones.

On the third floor there is a magnificent view of the city and well worth checking out for picture opportunities.
Written 19 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Experience213766
Mariager, Denmark1 contribution
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Business
Very nice museum to visit with the class. The on-site guidance is also professional. Things are going wrong behind the scenes, at the box office group KMKG. Unreachable by telephone. Difficult to reach by email. On 20/01/2024 I received written confirmation from them that they had received the payment twice due to a mistake. A month later I am still waiting for the refund (this concerns 180 euros) and I was asked to be patient. Come on, Group KMKG, this has to be better!'
Google
Written 25 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Karine R
1 contribution
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Couples
Unfortunately, the cashiers let visitors in less than an hour before the museum closes without warning them that the visit could last much longer. As a result, you pay full price for a visit that they don't give you time to finish, they even come to pick you up and tell you to get out. Really disappointed because if you take the time to listen to all the instruments, an hour is not enough. We've barely entered the second room and the floor doesn't talk about it, we don't know what it looks like.
Allow time for this visit, and forget it if you arrive at 4 p.m., because at 4:45 p.m. they send everyone out
Google
Written 26 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Frédéric G
2 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2024 • Family
We had booked for 15:30 – 16:00 We arrived around 15:30 the lockers were not working after trying several. Then we were told that there was no more audio guide. At the end of the day more batteries and therefore more audio guide. After trying to find an arrangement because I had family who came especially from Paris for the museum, we had 2 audio guided +/- loaded for 8 people including one who fell directly flat. Then we were told 1h30 - 2h00 visit at the entrance. But know, the museum closes at 4:30. So we were kindly kicked out after less than an hour of visiting. In short, we were not able to see the entire museum in bad conditions. A real disaster. I do not understand how a city like ours, the capital of Europe with such a beautiful jewel in its hands, can offer such a deplorable experience. A shame!
Automatically translated
Written 3 November 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Marinel15
128 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2024 • Couples
Average Rating, as we had time to do only two floors. Schedules are not marked on the door or at the entrance. We didn’t know that it closed on Saturday at 5pm no clarification at the reception or politeness for that matter. Too bad because the museum seems very friendly and the audio guides are very good we can listen to all the instruments we see pretty much ..
Automatically translated
Written 19 October 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Pavanella66
Ravenna, Italy48 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2023 • Friends
Very interesting and not at all "heavy" museum. Suitable for all ages. The cost of the ticket includes an audio guide with which you can listen to the sounds of the hundreds of instruments on display. Sounds from distant countries and ancient eras can be heard. Unmissable.
Google
Written 17 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Zara H
York, UK35 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2023 • Couples
The first room had little flow, and little interpretation. They provided audio guides to listen to the instruments but often the numbers didn’t corroborate to the instruments, and it was difficult to tell when purchasing tickets if you needed to pay for “earphones” to get the guides or not. We paid for 1 between the two of us but both got given a guide so still unclear.
The second floor room was much more interesting and had better interpretation and more flow, but we had started flagging by that point, so would recommend you go up stairs first.
There was also a small section of African musical instruments. It seemed like most of these were from the Congo, and given both Belgiums chequered history with the country, and the anti- colonial strides much of Western Europe is trying to take, I’d have liked to have seen that section framed in slightly less of the tone of a racist Victorian explorer taking about the bizarre instruments of the natives.
Written 21 February 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Hermes_NL 🇳🇱
Amsterdam, The Netherlands21 679 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2023 • Solo
You don’t have a museum of musical instruments in every city and certainly not with such a great collection! So in that sense a must see when you are in Bruxelles. The atmosphere in the museum is a bit darkish with low ceilings, no doubt also to protect the instruments from the influence of light. The shop was open, the restaurant closed when visited.
Written 1 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS MUSEUM - MIM (2025) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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